The dream being interpreted, Joseph follows up with advice on how to handle the situation. He is thinking about what God is doing by revealing these things in advance, and why this has happened.
During the seven years of plenty, the coming of seven years of scarcity afterwards would seem very unlikely to those who walked by sight. Only those who believed Joseph’s explanation would be ready to make the sacrifices necessary to prepare for the future. This is a powerful picture of walking by faith. The Christian lives for a future which the world does not believe will ever come.
Could we say that the language of symbols and their interpretation is something which the student of the prophets should be familiar with? The prophets use Biblical symbols, and often their interpretation involves resolving them into spiritual realities. All prophecy has a meaning, but must be applied. The believer is given to understand the meaning of Scripture by the Spirit.